From Nothing to Everything
by fangirlsupreme76
Summary: Halyn Autre. The name is enough to send people running. No one wants anything to do with poor, Factionless Halyn. Oh, but there is so much more to the story.
1. The Cheese Is Mighter Than the Knife

Halyn POV

I walked along the abandoned streets of the factionless, skipping rocks across the sidewalk, looking at the faces of the poor people WE deserted. Well, maybe not we.  
"Hey Brian." I said casually as I walked up to my brother, who was on the street corner begging for food. "Did you get anything?" He rummaged through his pack and said "Some raisins, a pouch of nuts and... an apple." He took out a shining red apple and bit into it. "Hey! Leave some for me!" I chided, shoving his shoulder.  
We walked back to our ally and sat against the brick wall. "Pass me the nuts." I told him. He tossed me the little bag filled with peanuts and took out the apple. He took out his pocket knife and split it in half. "Here." he said, giving me the half he didn't bite. I gratefully took it and devoured it. It had been forever since we had fresh fruit, and I wasn't going to wait for it to go bad.  
As we sat there, eating our lunch, we heard a girl say "Let go of me." I looked around the corner and saw some old creep I've seen a few times before grabbing an Abnegation girl's wrist. Every time I saw that guy, I shuddered. This wasn't any different.  
She looked him dead in the eyes, scowling. He let go, muttering something, and she zipped away. "Give me the knife." I told Brian. "Halyn, what are you-" "Give. Me. The knife." I repeated, enunciating very clearly. He hesitated, then gave it to me. I flipped it open and stormed up to the man. "What the HELL was that?!" I yelled. "None a your business." "Oh, but I think it is." I say, poison dripping from my voice. I stepped on his foot and, when he yelped, I dug the knife up to his neck. One slice and his miserable life was over.  
"This girl comes here and gives us the food that we can't afford. She comes and gives you what you need to live, and you go traumatizing her!" I dug the knife deeper. He gave me a look of pure terror, but I didn't care. "You give the factionless a bad name! I should end your pointless life RIGHT NOW!" I screamed in his face. I dropped the hand with the knife to my side. "But I won't, because unlike you, I care about what happens to people. Now leave, before I change my mind." He scurried away as I stood there, fuming. I walked off into the streets, thinking about this morning.  
(This morning)  
"Don't be so jittery." Brian told me as we sat in the cafeteria. I hadn't realized I was tapping the table with my fingers. God, just sitting here is nerve wrecking, waiting for the test that may change our lives. What made me even more nervous was the glares from the other kids. The only reason we were even here was because the Abnegation government officials made it nessesary that all children from all factions to come to school. I don't think it made a difference, though, because we were the only kids who were factionless before the choosing ceremony. Most of them died before they turned 16. We are known as "Hobos" among the school and there hasn't been one kid who let us be, except for maybe the Abnegation kids, but that's just because they're forced to be nice. I should have done something about the glares, but under the circumstances, I didn't think flipping them off was the best idea.  
They started calling people by the first letter of their last names. In the case of siblings, oldest to youngest. "Brian Autre." I heard someone call. He got out of his seat, pat my shoulders, and walked off to the test rooms.  
All I could think about was the test, the others, and the fly buzzing around my head. My headache grew as I tried to swat the fly away. It only buzzed louder. At some point, I just gave up and waited for Brian. When he came back, his face was deathly pale. "How did it go?" I ask. He just walked past me and muttered "See you at home." I gulped. "Halyn Autre." As I followed the little woman to the test rooms, I could literally feel the hateful glares burn through the back of my head. I was relieved when we finally came into the room.  
The light burned my eyes and it took me awhile to adjust. I looked around at the large room I was sent to. I walked up to one of the walls and looked at my reflection. I was fairly tall for my age, standing 5'7" and I was very slim (but who would have expected different). My waist-long brown hair was pulled up in a pony tail to keep it out of my way. My eyes were a deep blue today, but that always changes, from green to hazel to gray and sometimes even red. My face was pale and narrow, slightly boney from starvation (though not a severe case). "AHEM!" someone cleared their throat behind me. I jumped and spun around on my heel, my pony tail whipping me in the face.  
A petite woman from Amity was standing next to a dentist chair in the middle of the room. How did I miss THAT? I walked up to her and laid down on the chair. "Hello Halyn. My name's Olive." she said cheerily. "I will be administrating your aptitude test today." She attached electrodes to my head and gave me a vial of liquid. "Drink." she said softly. I tilted my head back and downed it in one gulp. It tasted like a wet dog smells. I coughed a bit, then laid back again.  
My vision shifted to a room with a table and 2 baskets. One had a knife about the size of my forearm and the other had a huge hunka cheese. "Choose." A woman's voice boomed. "Why?" "Choose!" she repeats, already sounding a little annoyed. I look back at the table. _Knife, cheese, knife, cheese. _A little light bulb went off in my head. I grabbed both the knife and the cheese, basket and all. "You must CHOOSE!" The voice said, getting really angry. "I did. I chose both." I reply, patting myself on the back. I grabbed the cheese and took a bite out of it. _Simulation cheese tastes just like regular cheese_ I thought to myself happily. She started getting flustered, muttering gibberish, probably trying to find a solution. Even if she was, she couldn't find it, because after 10 seconds, the table disappeared and a door appeared on the far wall.  
An angry dog ran out and charged toward me. I set the knife aside and placed the cheese and its basket on its side. The dog stopped running and gave me a confused look. It slowly walked up and took the cheese. When it sniffed, I caught it in the basket and watched as it thrashed. I sat on it to keep it from running, but I just got dragged along. I was swung around in circles until it finally gave up. It took a second to get my wits back before getting off the Mechanical Pit Bull.  
"PUPPY!" someone yelled. I turned toward the voice to see a little girl standing by the door. The basket started moving again, rushing toward her. It flew off, revealing the frothing dog from earlier. I ran, but not toward the dog. I picked the little girl up and put her on my shoulders. When the dog ran in front on me, I stepped on it and made a mad dash for the knife. I picked it up when the dog finally realized what had just happened and came after me. I turned, knife drawn, and pointed it at the dog. He backed up, put his tail between his legs, and ran back through the door. I let the girl down just in time for the scene to change.  
I was on a bus, standing in front of some guy with a newspaper. "Do you know this man?" he said pointing to a picture of a man on the front page. I squinted, trying to remember if I knew him. "No sir." I told him, almost certain I didn't know him. "Please, you can save me." he lowered the newspaper, revealing his face. Half of it was burned a horrible black. It was absolutely horrifying. "Sir, if I knew him, I would have told you." I insisted. We had sort of a stand off until the scene melted away, revealing the blinding light of the testing room.  
I looked over at Olive, who was busily typing on her computer. "This is highly unusual." she said, not looking up from the screen. "What is?" I asked her, not sure if I wanted to know the answer. "The structure of the test allows for one or more faction to be eliminated throughout each stage. Amity would have immediately taken the cheese, sending them to a different scene. You took both, so that didn't really decide anything, especially since you used the cheese instead of just killing the dog. Luring the dog into a trap was something Erudite would do, saving the girl was Abnegation, and jumping on the dog to get the knife was a definite Dauntless.  
"Something went wrong with the bus, so you didn't feel you knew the man. We should administer the test again, but we only have so much serum. Either way, you told the truth, so you could possibly be Candor. The test did absolutely nothing to prove which faction you belong in." God, why do I have to be so difficult? My head was swimming with thoughts. "What am I then?" I asked. "You are what we call Divergent. And a very rare case at that. Halyn, never tell anyone what you are." she warned. "I know that already." I told her. "No, I don't mean just now. Don't tell anyone EVER." she said, more urgently this time. "Ok." I said simply, then walked out.


	2. It Would Be Better

Halyn's POV

I woke up with a throbbing headache. I'd been thinking so hard about the test that my brain was trying to kill itself. It didn't help that I was laying on cold hard cement. Ignoring the pain, I got up, cracked my spine a few times, and walked up to Brian. He was passed out, sitting up on the brick wall with his head thrown to the side. I pushed him over just enough for him to topple over with a satisfying _SLAP!_ "Why?!" he groaned. "The choosing ceremony's today!" His eyes shot open. "Whoa, what?! That's today!?" I laughed. "I don't think you'd make it far in Erudite. Now get up and make yourself presentable."  
I shuffled through my duffel bag (A.K.A. My room) and pulled out this. I'd been able to scrounge up enough clothes that were randomly thrown into the street to make one good outfit. As for the dress, I actually made it myself. Someone was stupid enough to toss a sewing machine into the streets, so I took advantage and sewed together fabric from the factions. I walked behind the tarp, changed, and walked back out to find Brian in some jeans and a baggy red T-shirt. "Oh, you didn't have to go through ALL that trouble!" I chided, giving him a smirk.  
We walked to the school, as usual, joking around and watching the Dauntless be Dauntless. When we got to the school, we gracefully shoved everyone out of the way so that we could get in the elevator (These shoes may be fabulous, but I sure ain't climbing up 20 flights). Some of that really crappy elevator music was playing, so I just tuned out the world until we got to the 20th floor (because a big school with one floor just wouldn't do). When the doors finally opened, I was pushed out of the elevator and into the auditorium.  
The crowd was humongous! Not even everyone from the factions showed up and it was still well into the thousands. I shoved more people out of the way as we tried to get in line. When we finally got there, I let out an exasperated sigh. The guy in front's last name started with a Z, so we would have to make it all the way to the back of the line. "Come on." I told Brian, grabbing his arm. As we made our way through, I told random people stuff like "'Scuse me." "Comin' through." and to one girl in particular "Oh, cute dress!" We made it to the back of the line just as the ceremony started.  
Some Abnegation guy was standing in front of 5 colossal bowls, each filled with something representing each faction. At least I think. When they were talking about it during class, I may have accidentally fallen asleep. If I remember correctly, the rocks were for Abnegation, the fire was for Dauntless (Who could forget that?), the dirt was for Amity, the glass was for... Erudite, maybe? Wait, no, Candor. Erudite's was filled with water. Was it? GOD! WHY didn't I pay attention? I could be wrong and end up Abnegation instead of Candor. What sucks even more is that I have NO idea what I'm even going to pick! Damn test.  
I looked at Brian. A thought had just come to me. What was HE going to pick? He hasn't really shown any signs of any faction. He's never been particularly blunt, he's never been a push-over, he'll take something if offered (but what factionless wouldn't?), he's not very bright, and he's wussed out on me before. A lot, actually. Maybe he was Divergent too? I mean, it's only one faction or all factions in our society. Or was he just MEANT to be factionless? Oh my god, I feel a migraine coming on.  
The guy in front started talking, but my head was throbbing too loudly for me to hear. My vision was blurring and suddenly I couldn't see the bowls. I rubbed my eyes, trying to regain my sight, but I couldn't. I blinked. Suddenly, a burst of light flashed from one of the bowls. _What the- _It disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. My vision was back and my headache was gone. All that I could think was _Huh?_ "Hayln!" Brian whispered at me. The line had moved up at least 5 kids and I hadn't noticed. I stumbled forward and watched the kids go up.  
Most of them just stayed in their factions, probably too scared that they would be judged by their old faction or just straight up disgrace them. In our case, though, it didn't matter what we chose. The factionless were already disgraced. Our few friends there are just happy we get a second chance at life. There was one kid, James Tucker I think, that had enough courage to switch factions (ironically from Dauntless). Once he stumbled to the bowls and cut himself, he held his hand out over the glass and switched to Candor. I think. I could have been Erudite. Maybe Amity? UGH! WHY brain!? Why did you have to shut down the one day I needed you? I'm sure there were tons more transfers, but my ADHD kicked in and I randomly started thinking about bunnies. Yes, bunnies. Stupid, right?  
Kid after kid grabbed the knife, cut their palm, picked their faction, and went to sit in the crowd. Z to B all came and went. Then it came to us. Brian walked up as gracefully as ever. He gripped the knife, looked back up at me, and in one swift move, made a cut down his palm. Blood slowly dripped down his hand as he held it out. He stared straight in front of him, inhaled, and held his hand out over the Dauntless bowl. His blood dripped into the flames and sizzled on the coals. The room was deathly silent as he joined the others. Brian. Dauntless. I did NOT see that coming.  
I felt like I was going to throw up. I had no idea what faction to pick, I was going to be hated no matter where I went, and that flash... It was too much. Everyone's head turned toward me. I swallowed hard and walked up the the bowls. I looked at the man and grabbed the knife, not breaking eye contact. I fumbled with it a little before I finally had a small cut on my hand. A small drop of blood dribbled down my palm. I felt like I was going to faint. I turned to the bowls. _Amity, Erudite, Dauntless, Abnegation, Candor... _  
I STILL didn't know what to pick. Abnegation has helped us for years, Dauntless presented a challenge, and Candor was practical. When your factionless, you learn to be practical, the easy way or the hard way. Amity and Erudite are definitely out of the picture. Frankly, I like punching stuff, so Amity isn't happening, and Erudite is just... no. I can probably rule out Candor too, mostly because of the test. It didn't work right. How was I supposed to know if I would have told the man or not is I really didn't know the other guy?  
I looked between the rocks and the fire. Who was I going to pick? The people who've helped me through 16 years of life, or the people who've always had so much fun jumping off of trains and goofing around? I looked down at my hand. The blood was just hanging off of my skin. I closed my eyes, wishing that I had more time. But I didn't. I had to make a choice. I lifted my hand over one of the bowls. Hoping I didn't make the wrong choice, I let my blood fall on the open fire. The flash, the old man in the streets, my brother, all signs that I would belong here. In Dauntless.


	3. Lots of Jumps, Pain, and Angry Children

Hayln POV

They all glared at me. Dauntless, Candor, Erudite, even Amity and Abnegation. I had no idea what was wrong here. I mean, I understand why Dauntless would be upset, but why was everyone else? Didn't they WANT this to happened? To not have the Hobo in their faction? I stiffly walked toward the rest of the initiates and got to the end of the line. Just as I made it to the back, all of the Dauntless bolted for the stairs. _What the hell?_ I followed, not wanting to end up where I started, as they flooded into the staircase. They didn't slow down as they shuffled down the steps. I was losing steam, and fast.  
I looked around, panting heavily as we continued to the 18 flight. The hand railing was barely visible over the sea of black and gray. _Hmm... _I shoved people out of the way, trying to reach the wall before I was trampled to death. With my arms spread in front of me, I was just able to feel the cool cement wall beneath my fingertips. _I hope this works._ I took off my shoes and climbed up onto the railing. I immediately started sliding down in my black stockings. _Yes!_  
I was feeling like a genius, moving down the staircase with ease, but then I realized there was a wall. God, how could I forget the wall?! I panicked and almost fell off. _Think, think, think!_ _What would a Dauntless do?_ _Uh... GOT IT!_ I crouched a little and braced myself. _Closer, closer... NOW!_ Just as I was about to run out of rail, I jumped, kicked the wall, and managed to land on the next railing. _Nailed it!_ The question was, though, would I be able to pull it off the rest of the way down? I glanced back at the crowd. The initiates were somehow behind me. They all gawked at me as I rode the rails down. I flipped them off, stuck out my tongue, and focused on the next wall jump.  
Jump after jump, without fail. It was a miracle. But, as we all know, all good things must come to an end. On the final jump, when I thought I was finished, my stocking got snagged on the end of a rail and ripped a huge hole in the right leg. _Damn. So close!_ I shrugged it off and waited for the others, because I had no idea where we were going. I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, the first person came sprinting out in their bright blue polo and blue jeans. _Erudite man, I see._ "Slow down, man!" I heard someone yell. "You have no idea where we're supposed to go!"  
I hopped into the group and started an all-out sprint. The air stinging my cheeks was wonderful. So fresh, so clean. Not like in the factionless part of town. It's literally a dump, trash and sewage pouring into the streets constantly. This is different. Completely different. I'm not running for my life, or for the last ration of food. I'm just running. I took a deep breathe as I ran, basking in the glorious air. I continued to run along with the group, enjoying it, when I heard a train whistle. _Wait, are we- _Everyone formed a straight line. _I guess we are._  
The train roared down the track, loud and proud, bright and busy. Before I knew it, all of the Dauntless-born were gone and only the transfers were left. _I've been waiting for this moment. _As a group started jogging next to the train car, I just ran. I've been wanting to do this for a while now, so I wasn't going to dawdle. As soon as I was close enough to the door, I threw myself with all of my might into the train car.  
I was tall enough to get in on my own, but it probably would have ended a little better if I wasn't. When I hit the floor, I kept rolling at the same speed until I hit the wall. "Ow." I said blandly. I got whipped in the face several times by my braid, so that didn't help. I heard some of the Dauntless-born laughing. "Oh, ha ha. Up yours." That shut 'em up. I put my shoes back on and watched as one by one, transfers jumped in. Most of them got in. I overheard a group talking about how a chubby little Erudite boy didn't make it (Not much of a surprise there). Welcome to the family, kid.  
I just kind of sat there, staring at the setting sun, thinking about nothing. Not much to think about, really. My past has been erased from history. We had no home, no family, no strings attached. As far as the factions are concerned, we never existed up until this morning. I felt a small nudge on my arm. "Hey Hayln." "Hey Brian." I kept looking out to the horizon. The sunset was really pretty.  
After a few seconds pause, he abruptly asked me "When we get to the compound, will we still be siblings?" I thought about it for a moment before saying "I'm not sure there's anything that can make us not be related." I could hear the smile in his voice when he said "Good." We turned silent and just looked out the door, admiring the view. Suddenly, we see a few black figures jump from the car in front of us onto an on-passing roof. "They're jumping off!" Brian shouted. Huh. I was kind of wondering how we were gonna get off.  
There was a minute of shocked silence before a Candor girl said the obvious. "We have to jump off too, then." Her nose was huge, and she needed to see a dentist. Badly. "Great." a Candor boy said. "Because that make perfect sense." "It does, actually." I told him. He slowly turned his head toward me and gave me the ugliest look I've ever seen. "Really? Then why don't you explain it to us, Hobo." I grinned and said "Gladly." I got up and walked to the door. "You see, we're Dauntless now, right?" They all reluctantly nodded. "So when you're Dauntless..." I looked out the door. The roof was coming up fast. "You jump first and ask questions later." I gave them a smile and jumped out, backwards.  
I almost felt like I was flying. My long hair had come out of its braid and was flowing freely. I twisted in the air so that I was able to see where I was going. I still had about 4 floors to cover, so I just enjoyed the sensations. I would have never gotten these thrills in Abnegation. I noticed a few others had jumped too. I held my hands out in front of me as I flew, getting ready for the blow. It was pretty painful, but I've been through worse. I mean, I was able to pull off a back flip and land on my feet. My palms are scratched up pretty bad, but nothing too serious.  
I noticed one problem though. One of my shoes had flown off my feet and was now probably hurtling toward the ground at break-neck speeds. I shrugged and watched as everyone fell on their butts or face-planted. The Candor kid got lucky and landed on his feet. Not impressed, though. I heard a screech at the side of the roof. I walked over to see a Dauntless guy holding a Dauntless girl back from the edge. She was screaming very loudly as she looked over the side. "Rita," the guy told her. "Rita, calm down, Rita." She stopped screaming and just broke down crying. _What's this all about? _I looked over the edge. _Oh, wow._  
A dead girl laid there, her limbs bent into a sort of swastika shape. Her hair was spread out underneath her head like a little fan. Most people would probably be freaking out. Me? I shrugged and thought _Such is life._ I'm not a heartless monster, I swear! I've just seen so many dead bodies in my life, it's not quite as shocking to me as it is to these kids.  
There was a girl standing near me, an Abnegation girl, the ONLY Abnegation transfer. She pulled up her sleeve and looked at her elbow. The skin was peeling, but nothing bloody. Better than I can say about my hands. "Ooh. Scandalous! A Stiff's flashing some skin!" It was that Candor kid. The girl blushed and let her sleeve fall back down. _What's this guy's problem?! _I was about to go Dauntless on his butt, but then a man interrupted my rage.  
"Listen up! My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction!" he shouted. He was pretty old, but I know not to judge him by age. I know a factionless man, he's 76, and he can still beat a mugger to a bloody pulp. "Several stories below us is the members' entrance to our compound. If you can't muster the will to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the privilege of going first." The crowd split down the middle to let us through. I heard murmurs among the initiates. "He wants us to jump off the ledge?" "Is there water at the bottom or something?" "I really have to pee, but I don't know where I have to go." Already, this was getting annoying. I couldn't take much more of this. If dying means that this will stop, so be it.  
I took a step forward. So did the Abnegation girl. A few people started snickering. I tried to talk to her through facial expressions. _You wanna go together? _Pause. _Sure._ Wow, that was easier than I thought. We both walked up to the gaping hole. It was like a maw of darkness, threatening to consume me, my soul, and my life. This is gonna be fun.  
"Awww. The Hobo and the Stiff are going together. Isn't that cute?" That freakin' Candor guy again. I swear, if I end up factionless for murder... I fumbled around with my jewelry, figuring it was going to get trashed anyway. My necklace, my bracelet, my ring, my earrings, everything. I also took off my only shoe and shoved everything into the toe. I was about to throw it at him when I saw the girl had already done it. She had taken off her jacket and thrown it at him. I wasn't trying to be original, though, I just wanted to hurt him. I chucked the shoe at his head and hit him in the forehead. _Bull's Eye!_  
I turned back to the gap. I glanced at the girl. She was determined. The tension was too much. "YOLO!" I did a cannon ball down the hole. It. Was. Amazing. My hair flew everywhere. The wind blowing past hit me in the face like a slap. It felt a lot better than it sounds. What can I say? I'm not really one for words. I opened my arms and legs completely and just fell starfish-style. _WHEEEEE!_ _THWACK!_ "Ow." Was I dead? All I saw was concrete. I couldn't move. Yep, I'm dead. "Hey, get up." "I can't, I'm dead." I heard an exasperated sigh as I started bouncing.  
I started feeling random tugs at my limbs. Then yanks. Eventually, this guy was just pulling at my hands and feet. "Damn. You're stuck pretty bad." _SNAP!_ "Oh crap." I started slipping toward the new hole in the netting. I braced myself for impact, only to have my left arm yanked out of place. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" It finally slipped out, only to let me land on it on the way down. "Ow." "Somebody, get the duct tape." "AHHHH!" _THWACK!_ No, no, no, please, no, no... Silence."Thank God." I whispered to myself. _THWACK! THUMP!_ Of course.  
"Get off of me. NOW." I yelled, very ticked off. "Ok! Yeesh." The Erudite boy from the school rolled off of me as I continued to wallow in pain. "Are you ok?" "A 16-year-old guy just landed on me after I dislocated my shoulder and fell on a hard wood floor. Am I?!" He looked down at me and smirked. "If you had just said yes, I may have helped you, but now..." He slowly started to walk away. I let out a sharp breath. "Yes, please help me." Damn Erudites.  
He gave me a cheeky smile. "That's better." He grabbed my left arm. "OW!" "Oh, sorry." He let go and let my hand fall onto my face. _Ow._ Now he grabbed my right arm and pulled me up. My left arm flopped down to my side and just kind of hung there. _Ow._ "Thanks." I mumbled, then walked away. A huge crowd I hadn't noticed before started cheering and pumping their fists for some reason. Then again, do Dauntless really need a reason?  
"Hold it!" Everyone slowly stopped screaming their lungs out. One of the guys turned toward me. "What's your name?" "Hayln." "First jumper - Hayln!" "Huh?" "What?" "But didn't he-" "Isn't she-" "Unbelievable." I heard someone, a woman, say. She slowly walked around him, letting me get a better look at her face (but it still wasn't very good. The lighting was terrible.) She had dark-hair and 3 rings stuck in her eyebrow. It wasn't a bad look, actually.  
"Not only was a Stiff the first jumper, but a Hobo as well? Unimaginable." "Well you don't have to imagine it now." I gave her a smirk and walked off to the side. I leaned against a far wall and watched as they started to tape the net back together. It was probably going to snap again, but I'll let them squirm a little. _THWACK! THWACK! SNAP! THWACK! THUMP!_ So many noises echo through the dank base as initiate after initiate fell from the roof. Pretty soon, they've all gotten back on the ground and we're led off into a slightly less dank corridor.  
As we walked, I looked around a bit, taking in what was probably going to be my new home. Low hanging roof, rock walls, and dim lights. Noted. I was watching closely for some more specific details, when I realized a little too late that we had stopped. I walked right into the Dauntless guy right in front of me. "Hey, watch where you're going!" Is everyone in Dauntless going to be like this?! "Well, it's kind of hard with your big head in the way." It wasn't really that big actually, I just couldn't come up with anything better.  
"This is where we divide," the woman said. "The Dauntless-born initiates are with me. I assume you don't need a tour of the place." She grinned (for some reason) and walked away with the Dauntless kids in tow. Ok, now that they've been weeded out, let's see what we have to work with. Abnegation, Erudite, and Candor are left. Not many people are here, only 9, but that means they live longer.  
The guy turned toward us. "Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I am your instructor," _No duh._ "My name is Four." "Wait, your name is Four? It's legally 'Four'?" I asked. Who would actually change their name to Four? Is he mentally unstable? "Yes. Is there a problem?" "No, I'm just wondering, why Four?" He shot me a look, then turned around and completely ignored my question. _These people!_  
We continued walking. "We're go into the Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It -" I heard a Candor girl snicker. "The Pit? Clever name." "Very." I muttered. Again, he turned and looked at the girl who said it. He put a full-on glare on his face as he quietly asked "What is your name?" _Holy crap! Talk about intimidating!_ "Christina." the girl squeaked. "Well, Christina, if I wanted to put up with Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction," he told her, obviously losing patience. He looked over the group in general. "The first lesson you will learn from me is to keep your mouth shut. Got that?" He snapped his head back to Christina. She nodded. His head snapped to me. "What about you?" I rolled my eyes, but I nodded. If I want to make it through initiation, it'll probably be better to not piss off the instructor.  
He turned around and led us further down the hall. He pushes two huge double-doors and continued into what I assumed was 'The Pit'. It was huge! It was one of those places where even if it didn't have anything in it, you'd get lost. I could make out a few rabbit holes they had built into the walls. Places for food, clothing, supplies, and a ton of random things that I guess were considered 'fun' around here, all connected with narrow pathways without railings. I could see half of the people here falling off already.  
I just stood there and stared at the people in black running across the paths, screaming at their friends, doing basically nothing useful what-so-ever. This was my new home. "If you follow me, I'll show you the chasm." I focused back on Four. _Tour. Right. _We're led to the right side of The Pit, which somehow is even darker and danker than the rest of the base. There were big sections where there were no lights along the way, so most of us were just walking blind. I stopped whenever my hands hit an iron rail. I heard rushing water just a few feet away. The 'chasm' must just be a river. Very scary. I tried to look out and managed to see some very angry water crashing against very sharp rocks. Very scary indeed.  
"The chasm reminds us that there is a fine line between bravery and idiocy!" Four shouted. I flinched. _Gah! Right in my ear!_ "A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again. You've been warned." I heard him walk away. Of course this thing exists. Why wouldn't Dauntless have a deadly river flowing in their living quarters? I turned on my heel and walked away. That thing freaks me out.  
The group was brought to a huge hole in the wall that couldn't be mistaken, even by a factionless. A dining hall. Yep, definitely a dining hall. I see people with things that I assume are food and sitting together, talking and having a good time. That's what I think a dining hall is, anyway. It could just as well be a bedroom for all I know. I shrugged it off and went in.  
Ah, the smells. The smells are absolutely overpowering. I quickly look around for a place to sit. I'm hungry and I. Need. FOOD. "Hayln!" I turned around. The Abnegation girl was waving me toward her. Huh? We were friends? Since when? Eh, whatever. If I sat with her, it meant I could get food in my mouth sooner. Plus, it would be nice to actually have friends other than my brother. I walked over and sat next to Christine.  
There was a platter in the middle of the table with several pieces of meat stuck between two pieces of bread. I had no idea what it was, and I didn't care. I just needed food, and it was probably better than what we used to have. The Abnegation girl wasn't quite as open-minded. "It's beef. Put this on it." Four slid a bowl of red paste her way. "You've never had a hamburger before?" Christina sounded almost shocked. "No." "What's a 'hamburger'?" She looked at me. "You too?!" "Stiffs and Hobos don't eat stuff like this." He took a bite out of his food. "Why?" "Stiffs think they're an indulgence. Hobos just don't want parasites." She smirked. "No wonder you guys left." "Yeah, it's because of the food," I rolled my eyes. So did Abnegation.  
I took one with my good hand, stuffed my face, then stopped. _Huh? _I took another bite. It tasted off. I gagged. _Nope. _I put it onto the table and just stopped. "What, you don't like it?" Christina looked at me wide-eyed. "How can people eat that?! It's disgusting!" The doors flew open. "Speaking of which..." I heard Four mumble. A tall, muscular guy walked into the dining hall. His hair is extremely long, super oily, and practically black. His eyes alone were enough to bring a grown man to tears. Just looking at him sends chills up my spine. "Who's that?" I Christine hissed. "Eric." Four responded. "He's a Dauntless leader." "Frankly, I'm not surprised." He looked like the type of person who could bully someone twice his size, if there is someone that big.  
His eyes landed on our table. _No, no, no, no._ He started walking toward us. _Yep._ He sat down next to Four. Next to Eric, he looks down right puny. Dot dot dot. "Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" Eric said abruptly. _Another one of these? _"This is Tris, Christina, and-" "Hayln." I interrupted. "I'd prefer to do my own introduction." So her name's Tris. Noted. "Ooh, a Stiff and a Hobo!" He grinned. When he smiled, his pierced face was cringe-worthy. "We'll see how long you two'll last." "We'll see how long you'll last with that attitude." I shot back. His grin was replaced by a frown instantly. We had a mini stand-off. His eyes were literally making my body heat drop. Eventually, he just shrugged his shoulders and backed down.  
Since this guy was obviously an idiot, I started dodging in and out of the conversation, picking up little bits and pieces of information. "Been doing lately..." "Trying to meet with you..." "Satisfied with the position..." Finally, Eric walked away and I let myself tune back into the world. "-transferred from Erudite." Four finished. "Were you a transfer too?" Tris questioned. "I thought I would only have trouble with the Candor asking too many questions. Now I've got Stiffs, too?" "Hey, she was just asking a question, give her a break!" I interjected. He looked from me, to Tris, then back to me. "Careful, Tris. Hayln, watch yourself." Somebody called him over to another table and we were left alone. "Wow. Jerk." I waited for a response, so when I didn't get one, I turned to Tris, who was looking at Christina, who was looking at me. "What?" "I'm developing a theory." "Which is?" "You two have a death wish."  
After we finished eating (more or less), instead of leaving with Four, we ended up leaving with Eric. We silently stumbled around in the dark hallways, trying to keep up with Eric. Eventually, we made it to a wooden door and stopped. Eric did a little introduction before he got to the more important stuff.  
"Some ground rules. You have to be in the training room by eight o'clock every day. Training takes place every day from eight to six, with a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six. You will also get some time off between each stage of initiation." Okay, good so far... "You are only permitted to leave the compound when accompanied by a Dauntless." Doesn't really seem necessary, but okay... "Behind this door," He pointed behind him. "is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks. You will notice that there are ten beds and eleven of you. Someone's sleeping on the floor. Any volunteers?" I automatically raised my hand. My brain is reasoning that I've done it for all of my life, what's a few more nights? "How fitting. The Hobo's sleeping on the floor." That damn kid... He is either ending up factionless or dead. I'd like both very much.  
"Anyway, in the first stage of initiation, we keep transfers and Dauntless-born initiates separate, but that doesn't mean you are evaluated separately. At the end of initiation, your rankings will be determined in comparison with the Dauntless-born initiates. And t hey are better than you are already. So I expect- " "Rankings?" One of the Erudite girls asked. "Why are we ranked?" Eric grinned. I shuddered. "Your ranking serves two purposes. The first is that it determines the order in which you will select a job after initiation. There are only a few desirable positions available. The second purpose," He grinned bigger. "is that only the top ten initiates are made members."  
What. The. Hell. "What?" "There are eleven Dauntless-borns, and eleven of you. Four initiates will be cut at the end of stage one. The remainder will be cut after the final test." I feel like he just loves to shock us. He just keeps grinning and grinning. "What do we do if we're cut?" the Candor kid asked. He's really oblivious. "You leave the Dauntless compound and live factionless." Everyone froze. "But that's…not fair!" a Candor girl complained. Actually, it's absolutely fair. In Dauntless, nothing's not fair. "If we had known-" "Are you saying that if you had known this before the Choosing Ceremony, you wouldn't have chosen Dauntless?" he snapped."Because if that's the case, you should get out now. If you are really one of us, it won't matter to you that you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward." He punched - yes, PUNCHED - the door open. "You chose us. Now we have to choose you."  
I stretched out under my brother's bed. It's nice to have something even slightly familiar, sleeping on the ground, next to Brian. Everything that I've truly held dear is with me right now, in this room, so I won't be crying tonight. Unlike the poor guy next to Tris. He's in a full out sob-fest. He may be big, but he's just a softie. Maybe I should talk to him tomorrow? I shook my head. This is my Abnegation coming out. My brain is trying to find a charity case to be selfless for. _No_. I tell myself. But I can't stop thinking about it. I ended up falling asleep to a throbbing head and loud sobs.


End file.
